


come closer

by lovesaudade



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: 180812 edit - changed the summary to something less shitty lol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Developing Relationship, Drama, Dramarama Setting, Friendship, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-31 03:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12673797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovesaudade/pseuds/lovesaudade
Summary: how a time traveler and a simple barista got into a situation where they got more than what they bargained for.they're just not sure yet if it's a good or a bad thing.





	come closer

**Author's Note:**

> happiest birthday to my dearest ayesha, you've already seen my cheesy message so i'll spare it from here, hehehe~
> 
> strap yourselves in because this might be quite a ride. this is set in the dramarama mv/universe, i have taken some scenes from the mv but i'll also be putting my own spins here and there. i hope it'll still make sense to you all as the story goes along. and please be gentle, this is the first time i've tried writing something based off their mvs huhuhu

He was broken.

More than the glass that encased numbers and gears in the contraption in his hand, a small hole on the lower right that caused cracks to form in a million directions.

He was silent.

More than the abrupt stop of the ticking metal hand clutched in his fist.

The watch in his hand mocked him the more he stared at it. It was cold to his touch despite the heat emanating from his body due to all his running. It was still intact despite the countless damages it endured.

It was still here, but _he_ wasn’t.

 

He gripped the watch tighter in his hand as emotions coursed through his veins. It was all that guy’s fault. He was supposed to make everything possible, that was what he did for a living. And yet everything ended in despair. It didn’t make sense at all.

He was livid, depressed, lonely. It was starting to get harder to breathe as well. It pained his chest, how his heart was beating so loudly against it. Did he want to be numb, too?

Everything was starting to blur again and suddenly—

 

He was breathless.

He still hoped that _he_ wasn’t.

 

* * *

 

 

Lee Minhyuk was a simple man, living and working as a barista had him experience a simple life.

He calmly went on with his daily routine, preparing coffee to perfection as he used his favorite coffee machine station—always the second one, never the first or third since those never failed to spray caffeine on him. He watched the warm, light brown liquid fall from the machine and into a small metal pot before transferring it onto his small, wooden tray, next to a plate of their freshest baked goods.

With trained poise, Minhyuk walked over to one of the café’s customers. A man of experience, Minhyuk guessed, based from the tired wrinkles on the man’s face and hands. He put on his signature, casual smile as a greeting before serving the man his order.

It’s not the most exciting job, but it was satisfying enough. But something always had Minhyuk remember that life was never this soothing, never this calming.

Today, it was his quick glance at the man’s newspaper.

He was reminded that the world around him was in chaos over, ironically, the power of control. The control of time by means of time travel. Various publications being sold in different stands had the same headlines plastered in front: “Time Traveler Skips Town!”

Though the news about this mysterious time traveler was all around the city, Minhyuk had little to no knowledge on who he is and what the guy did. All he heard about this time traveler was that he did something so terrible that it forced the government to permanently ban all means to time travel, specifically the watches the time traveler created, sold, and used. And that he went by the name of “CHW”.

Minhyuk often wondered what that “something” was, but barely had the chance to know more about it.

But something in Minhyuk’s gut—a feeling he couldn’t name—told him every time that he was better off not knowing.

He was shaken out of his musings, stalling from the front counter, when he heard a chair scooted across the floor as footsteps behind him rung throughout the café. He immediately turned around and caught a glimpse of the leaving customer—a tall male wearing a grey suit—for a mere two seconds before going closer to his abandoned table.

Like every day, he reached out to clean off the empty cup from the table. But his hands paused as his eyes widened in confusion when it landed on an intricately designed watch, with brown, leather straps. He picked it up and looked around, searching the café entrance before walking out of the establishment. He had a good reputation as an employee of the humble café, he wanted to keep it up.

Looking left and right, Minhyuk let his eyes wonder as far as the street stretched, but found himself disappointed that the tall customer was nowhere in sight. He looked back at the watch in hand and ran his thumb over the glass surface, eyes studying the numbers on display. Not a lot of people own and wear watches nowadays because of the ban, Minhyuk knew that. But to those that do, Minhyuk hasn’t seen anyone wear this kind of watch.

Minhyuk’s eyes flickered in panic for a few seconds, thinking that this was one of the forbidden watches the government kept announcing to the city. But he willed his heart to calm down, remembering that the time traveler was no where near in the city boundaries anymore.

Still, having a watch in one’s possession was dangerous if he wasn’t careful, as anyone could be accused of going against the ban at a first glance. Minhyuk didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble for his work place, so he decided to pocket the watch in his pants under his work apron before going back inside.

He figured that he could take it home for better safe keeping, and bring it again tomorrow in hopes that the suit-clad customer would come back for it.

 

It was already way passed closing time that Minhyuk only emerged from the back door of the café. He changed from his work attire and was now dressed in a plain brown shirt with black lining by the collar, his favorite beige jacket, simple black pants, and brown, burkes shoes. Adjusting his bag higher on his shoulder, Minhyuk made his way to his bus stop with light steps, wanting to get out of the night as fast as possible.

The weather outside was slightly chilly despite the summer months were already approaching. The skies were clear of clouds and the number of stars that were visible were scarce. Minhyuk loved the quietness of the night; it was rare for him to experience it in the city where cars and traffic were usually an everyday thing. Tonight was quiet, it was kind to him. Kind in a way that he gets to be by himself and be alone with his thoughts in peace. He thought about was he was going to cook for dinner when he gets home, about his neighbor who currently faced a dilemma with his pet dog, about the number of orders he completed today and if he beat last month’s record of twenty-two in a day, about life back in his home town—

Minhyuk shut his eyes tight as a reflex, growing more uncomfortable as a heavy feeling started to form at the pit of his stomach. _It’s been years_ , he reminded himself. _You’ve been doing so well_ , he berated himself.

He evened out his breathing by inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. That was a past he successfully forgotten already. He didn’t need any part of that memory, or the feelings that came with it, to resurface once again. It wasn’t important anymore. It didn’t matter anymore. It had no point anymore. He didn’t—

Minhyuk stopped in his tracks when he realized that he already passed his bus stop by a few feet. Muttering a curse under his breath, he jogged back where he came from before slowing down in front of the dimly lit stop. Previous thoughts were quickly wiped from his mind as he patted down his pockets in search for his wallet but frowned when he felt an unfamiliar lump underneath his palm.

Quickly fishing out the item, Minhyuk saw that it was the watch from earlier today. He flipped the watch over and inspected it to see if he could find out who the owner was. Sadly, the silver backside was just engraved with random numbers, a code from the manufacturers maybe. He turned it over again and squinted his eyes in curiosity. He skimmed through the different parts of the watch: the two small triangles connected by one of its corners—probably an insignia— the average watch face on the right side with three smaller circles in the background that specified the hour, minute, and second, and small metal blocks on the left side that he couldn’t read clearly with the dim light of the bus stop.

A cold breeze passed by Minhyuk and he stuffed his free hand into his jacket’s pocket, an attempt to keep him from shivering. He refocused his attention back to the watch, adjusting his grip so that his fingertips rested against the steal buttons spaced out on the rim of the face. Tilting his head, he raised the watch higher to catch better light on the device, eyes briefly going across the numbers “2017” before he brought back his hand down.

Only then he realized that none of the watch’s hands were moving, paused at 6:23. He momentarily thought of what significance this time had for the watch to stop moving at this point.

Minhyuk supposed that the owner wouldn’t mind if he would start his watch again. Couldn’t really tell time if it was stopped now, could he?

He pressed down on the button underneath the tip of his middle finger. And in one unexplainable moment, he vanished.

 

* * *

 

 

Everything was a blur.

He couldn’t see anything but random flashes of light.

He couldn’t say anything but the breaths that escaped from of his lips as if he was choking on them.

He couldn’t feel anything but the flapping and smacking of the material of his clothes against his skin, his backpack getting away from him at some point.

He couldn’t think of anything but the whirring sensation of a million thoughts in his mind.

 

One moment he was floating, spinning uncontrollably and falling endlessly.

And in the next, his feet were firmly planted on asphalt ground.

 

It took a while for Minhyuk to gather his bearings. He observed his environment in a daze, and all he saw was colors.

Blues, reds, yellows, whites, greens. It was all muddling together for Minhyuk. After a few seconds he was finally able to focus with his eyes as his vision made out lines and figures of his surroundings.

The colors he saw took shape now. Red metal boxes attached to blue and green walls, white garage doors that had occasional red, yellow, and blue stripes, and off in a corner was a mountain of blue, black, and white garbage bags.

Minhyuk took in as much as he could about this place. It felt uncommon but familiar to him as he saw the connected buildings around him stretched up above him, until the sun shined on the top of the building making it impossible for Minhyuk to see where the buildings ended.

He looked to his left and into a dark alleyway, which proved to be a mistake as he saw three men, all in shades and in powerful black suits, coming towards him. His heart effectively skipped a few beats at the sight of them striding through the alleyway with purpose in their steps. He internally panicked and tried to look for a route to escape to, for it didn’t matter anymore where he was.

Right now, he just needed to run.

Minhyuk took a few cautious steps back as the three men came closer and closer. His breath hitched in his throat as he was running out of time and options. In a few steps he’d get caught, and he wouldn’t know how to leave this forsaken place. He was ready to do his last resort and run mindlessly through this place, until something grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him to the side.

He barely had any time to register what was happening before he had one foot in front of the other, breaking out in a run. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he was propelled forward by the thing leading him through the dark hallways. It took him a moment to realize that the thing was actually a boy. A boy with honey brown locks. He felt the boy grip his hand tighter as he gained more speed, and had Minhyuk do nothing but stumble and run behind him.

They kept going and going and going. Minhyuk was left to just follow the boy and oddly enough, there was a sense of trust surrounding the two of them. Minhyuk felt it, but couldn’t comprehend why he can. He couldn’t understand that amidst the life and death-like situation they were in, he still had this feeling deep inside that he could have faith in the boy.

But with one quick turn of the boy’s head, it dawned upon Minhyuk who the boy could be, and why he was able to silently trust him.

A sharp turn at the end of the dark alleyway had Minhyuk accidentally slip his hand from the young boy’s grip, but the boy continued to run as if nothing happened. And now that Minhyuk had an inkling idea on who he is, he kept running with all his might. He hoped that when they escape, he would be able to ask what was happening and how was everything happening in the first place.

But those hopes were quickly shot down when Minhyuk saw that they reached a dead end. Two pairs of feet skidded to a halt at the realization that they were trapped. They were both breathing heavily, but Minhyuk was more anxious than tired. Was this boy really the boy he thought it to be?

He licked his dry lips and gulped nervously, wanting to say a name he hasn’t said or thought of for years now. But fear was holding him back. The fear of those three men are about to find them, the fear that he must’ve mistaken this boy for _him_ , the fear that he got his hopes too high that it’ll just hurt him in the end.

As if he heard the uncertainties in the other’s mind, the boy started to turn around. Feet shifted first, then his torso next, and finally his head.

Minhyuk felt like everything was going in slow motion, the anticipation was almost too much to bear but he stood his ground as much as he could. But the moment that he made the slightest eye contact with the boy, Minhyuk’s mind went on overdrive. He felt like he couldn’t move, that he had no control over his body. Taking in the boy’s full appearance, Minhyuk wanted his body to do something, but his mind wouldn’t tell him what or how. All he could do is stare and try to convince himself that it was really _him_ right in front of his very eyes.

He felt like it was standing there with the boy for hours, but in reality, only a few seconds passed. No words were exchanged, just heavy breaths between them. Until the boy’s mouth started to open. Minhyuk waited anxiously for what the boy was about to say, but he felt alarmed when he saw terror in the other’s eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion until he heard male voices screaming, and that their words were getting louder and clearer.

Panic washed over Minhyuk’s body and the next thing he knew, everything was a blur.

 

* * *

 

 

The next thing he knew, he was staring at a dimly lit bus stop.

Minhyuk was confused than ever. More so, he still felt panicked and stressed from whatever just happened. He was at lost, he had no clue if what he just experienced was even part of real life. Did he really just see _him_? Did he really run through a maze of buildings with _him_? Did _he_ really hold his hand?

The answers to all his questions was in the palm of his hand. Literally.

Still feeling a little breathless, Minhyuk looked at his tightly curled fist. He didn’t realize how tight he was making it until he felt soreness shoot through his long fingers as he opened his hand, an audible click going off from one of the device’s buttons.

There it still was, the mysterious watch.

Suddenly, Minhyuk pieced everything together.

Every single rational part of his body told him that his theory was right. But his emotional side—the one running on dread, nervousness, and panic—was hoping and praying that it wasn’t. He couldn’t be holding… he couldn’t have just…

Minhyuk ran as fast as he could towards his house, he couldn’t wait any longer for that damn bus. He needed to get off the streets, needed to be the safety of his own privacy, needed—was it really a need? Minhyuk wasn’t sure with this one—to fathom what the hell just happened and how he got into a mess in his simple, ordinary life.

 

Minhyuk reached his house about forty minutes later. His legs were screaming in pain as his chest was burning, but it didn’t stop him from throwing his front door open and entering his home. Slamming the door close, not caring about neighbors at this hour, he sprinted up his stairs and went inside his room. He carelessly dropped his backpack on the wooden floor and practically threw the watch on his bed.

He paced back and forth in his room, hands coming up to grip his dark blue hair in stress. He was muttering curses and senseless words with every step he took. He knew he should do something about the watch. Him having it around already made him a criminal and ever more so when he used it—by accident, Minhyuk miserably reassured himself.

Calming down by the slightest bit, he decided to make a list of options by the top of his head. He could destroy it right here and now, go back tomorrow and leave it on the same table he found it, keep it until he sees the mysterious customer again and inform him that he has it, or he could bring it to the authorities.

All this thinking had Minhyuk give himself a headache. So, he stopped pacing and took deep breaths, closing his eyes as he slowly counted from one to ten. One, two, three, four—

 

“Rough night, huh?”

 

Minhyuk’s eyes shot wide open as he screamed at the top of his lungs. At that moment his legs decided to falter right under him and sent him crashing on the floor. His gaze landed on the corner of his room where he thought the voice came from. From what the light emanating from his window could show him, Minhyuk saw a silhouette hidden in the shadows. A beat of silence passed before Minhyuk saw a shiny, leather shoe stepped from the dark and into the limited light.

Minhyuk held in his breath and just watched the man slowly reveal himself. He knew he should be doing more rational than just sitting dumbly on the floor. He should be asking questions, attempting to get rid of the intruder, yelling so loud that his neighbors could check up on him, but instead…

He gaped at the mysterious customer from the café.

 

Minhyuk tactlessly let his eyes wonder from the stranger’s head to toe. He noted that the man—and an attractive one at that, Minhyuk didn’t know if he should be happy with this or not—wore the grey suit he remembered seeing earlier in the day. The man had dark brown hair that was styled to a tee, making him look very sophisticated. His dark grey eyes pierced through the night, his pale pink lips had a ghost of a smirk on.

Minhyuk concluded that this man was too chic and too sleek to be a thief. But then again, based from what happened with the watch, anything could be possible—

 

The watch.

His eyes moved from the man to the watch that was sloppily displayed on his bed covers. Minhyuk flinched and figured that this man was from the government. The man must be here to arrest him under the grounds of time travelling, and that’s why he was waiting by the dark. To catch him when he was at his most vulnerable.

Before Minhyuk was about to beg for his life—he was almost there as he has already fallen on his knees a few minutes ago—the man lifted his hands up, stopping any plea from Minhyuk’s lips to slip out.

 

“Calm down. I’m here to talk.”

“Um, okay…” Minhyuk’s throat protested as he spoke, hurting from all the running and screaming he did.

“Mind standing up so that we can have a normal conversation?”

“This whole situation is anything but normal, if you asked me.” Minhyuk mumbled but stood up nonetheless, massaging the sides of his thighs while doing so.

“I guess I should tell you first why I’m here.”

“Shouldn’t you tell me your name first?”

“We’ll get to that later, Lee Minhyuk.”

“How—How do you know my name?” He stuttered, fearing that the man really was from the government.

“I’m getting to that. That’s part of the whole ‘why I’m here’ story. I told you to calm down, I can practically hear your heart beating from here.”

Minhyuk distractedly placed his hand over his heart and clutched the slightly damp fabric of his shirt. “So, are you gonna arrest me?”

The corner of the man’s lips tugged up, as if he was amused at the question. “Far from. Now, are you gonna listen carefully?”

Minhyuk scowled at the other, miffed that he was being ordered around in his own home. Nonetheless, he nodded his head once.

“Good.” The man chuckled as he took a few more steps closer to Minhyuk. They were just a foot a way from each other before he spoke again. “It’s great to know that you found my watch. And that it works, too.”

Minhyuk was about to burst into a tirade of questions at what the man just said, but the glare that was sent his way told him that wasn’t the wisest thing to do.

“Yes, what you have there, my friend, is a time travel watch. And you must be wondering how I got my hands on it when the time traveler already left this town. Oh, how did I do it?”

“Can you just tell me instead of being annoyingly coy?” Minhyuk barked out, his anger masking the uneasiness he’s feeling.

The man had the audacity to laugh at the other’s outburst. “I thought you were a fun little thing, Minhyuk. I never knew you were so testy like this.”

“Yeah well forgive me for not preparing tea for you as we talk about the watch that’s literally making me a criminal by the second.”

The man shrugged. “Yes, that would’ve been nice. But I’ll just have to make do with the now.”

Minhyuk rolled his eyes but chose not to comment further.

“Well, I’ll put you out of your misery then. I’m the time traveler.”

Minhyuk half expected this but it still didn’t stop his heart from dropping to the pit of his stomach. He struggled to keep his face neutral, but he was aware that his breathing was getting shallow. “You’re… CHW?”

The man grimaced at the name. “I hate that nickname the media gave me. I wish they asked me about it first. But yes, I’m the so-called CHW.”

All Minhyuk could do was stare at the man—at CHW. He should question the authenticity of such claims, but he was exhausted. The information was too much too handle for his tired mind and body, and he was about to drop to the floor again but the other spoke up once more.

“Now that you know who I am, I’m going to ask you for a favor.”

“If you want me to go into your illegal time travel business and sneak some watches in the market for you, I’m out. I’m calling the authorities right now—"

“No, don’t!” CHW raised his voice a bit but composed himself again. “That’s not why I’m here. I want you to help me hide.”

“Help you hide? What the hell does that mean?”

“Exactly that. Come on, Minhyuk, keep up. I don’t wanna regret leaving one of my watches to an idiot.”

“Who said I wanted to keep the watch? Didn’t I tell you that that thing is making me a criminal? Who even wants to be a criminal?” Minhyuk fought back.

“You’re only a criminal when you’ve already been caught.”

“Stop being so damn mysterious—”

“Look, I don’t have much time to fight with you. Just tell me if you’re willing to help me or not.”

Minhyuk crossed his arms defiantly. “What’s in it for me?” He saw CHW hesitate with his words and raised his eyebrow at that.

“I’ll help you.”

“I don’t need any help—”

“I’ll let you see the boy you just saw an hour ago as much as you want.”

Minhyuk blinked what the other just promised him. He shifted his arms a bit until he was hugging his torso, tense from what the other was implying.

“I’ve known you for a long time, Minhyuk.” CHW started. “I know your life as much as you do, maybe even more, if I do say so myself. Such a shame what happened to your friend, a tragedy indeed. What was his name?

“Chang—” Minhyuk felt the tears build up but mustered enough strength to swallow them back down. “Changkyun. And don’t you dare talk about him like that!”

CHW raised his hands as an apology. “Touchy subject, fair enough. But moving on, I’ll help you visit him as much as you want. Just never report me to any authority. Or the government itself. It’s as simple as that.”

“Something tells me that it’s not as simple as what you just told me.”

CHW smiled ruefully. “Now you’re catching up. Of course, there’s the obvious fact that time travel is illegal. But as I said, you’re only a criminal when you’ve already been caught. And from the looks of it, only one of us has their name plastered on every newspaper in the country.”

Minhyuk couldn’t help but silently agree with his point.

“It’s a matter of me not letting you get caught, and you not letting me get caught again.”

Minhyuk hugged himself even tighter as he lowered his head. Was he ready to see Chang— _him_ after all this time? Was he ready to unleash all those feelings and emotions he already locked up years ago? He was already healed from the hurt and the trauma of what happened, but the temptation to just spend more time with _him_ was drawing him in. The man was inviting him to do something illegal for heaven’s sake, just so that he wouldn’t be captured by the government.

But still… what the government won’t know won’t hurt them and him, right? And okay, the time traveler as well—Minhyuk can’t believe he was seriously considering being a criminal now.

Minhyuk raised his head again and saw that CHW had his hand stretched out for him to take.

“Tell me, Minhyuk, don’t you really miss Changkyun?” He whispered, and Minhyuk would’ve thought that he was fondly asking him.

But he knew better. What they were doing was only beneficial to each his own.

“I do.” Minhyuk stated before taking the other’s hand in his, sealing the deal.

 

It was warm in his room, the night wasn’t so chilly anymore, and yet Minhyuk felt the coldest shiver travel down his spine.

What did he just agree to?

**Author's Note:**

> w o w that was long... and it's only the first chapter???
> 
> kudos, comments, and constructive criticisms are welcome and appreciated! you may also reach me via twitter: @kihyukssi. thank you!


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